History Doesn't have to Repeat
by HanamaruFlower
Summary: The cycle of Kashuu Kiyomitsu breaking and a "new" Kashuu coming to replace the previous one over and over again causes Yasusada to finally accept the fact that he needs to go through the heartbreaking situation every time. That is, until he learns to accept the repeating incident and forces to keep a distant each time there is a new Kashuu. But this newest Kashuu seems to be...


Side note: I've seen fan's interpretation of "what happens if the 'current' member of the citadel (like.. Mikazuki for example) broke and an exactly the same sword comes to the citadel as a replacement. Would they have the same memory as the previously broken one or not? I thought this idea was fun to play around with like how others did and wanted it make a version of my own with complex plots and emotions!

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 **History Doesn't Have To Repeat**

And just like that, there was a pool of blood that belonged to none other than Kashuu Kiyomitsu.

And just like that, Yamato no Kami Yasusada was the one who first discovered the body.

The twist to this gruesome scenario was that there were no tears coming out from Yasusada's eyes. There was no emotional outburst or a swift motion of rushing towards the cold body, shaking until the red orbs are visible. It wasn't because Yasusada was too surprised. No, it was because he was... used to this at this point. This was the fifth time he witnessed the death of Kashuu Kiyomitsu. To be more exact, this was the fifth different version of Kiyomitsu that broke during the battle.

 _'It's true... Since I didn't associate myself a lot with this Kiyomitsu, it doesn't... hurt. I don't have tears to shed any longer. Is this really for the best...?'_ This thought ran through Yasusada's head as the rest of the members from today's battle team ran to Kiyomitsu's aid, hoping that he would still be alive. As Yasusada watched all the members, doing whatever they can do somehow revive the red sword, Yasusada had a small flashback of his own.

 _"Yasusada!"_

 _As soon as Yasusada turned around to protect himself from the blind spot, it would have been too late if Kiyomitsu wasn't there to block the enemy's blow._

 _"Kiyomitsu, I can handle..."_

 _The sudden counter attack that Kiyomitsu made caused him to not put enough strength into his own blade, causing the monster to charge forward with an immense strength until the sound of sharp metal digging into the flesh rang into Yasusada's ears._

 _"Ki- Kiyomitsu!"_

 _With desperation in his eyes with parted lips at the appalling image in front of him, Yasusada gripped his sword tightly, running as fast as he could to save whatever that is left of his partner. Kiyomitsu's keen eyes managed to spot Yasusada rushing to his aids but the red blade knew that he was no longer fixable. It would be worse if Yasusada got hurt while trying to do something for a broken sword that is no longer good after this battle. In the end, Kiyomitsu took the life of his opponent on his own when Yasusada came close a few seconds later._

 _"Kiyo.. Kiyomitsu..." Yasusada's vision was becoming blurry already and it only made it worse as he saw Kiyomitsu trying to form a smile with rapid heavy breathing in between. "Others are coming! We can carry you and... and you can receive the treatment first! You like getting master's attention first, right...?"_

 _And from Yasusada's comment, Kiyomitsu only allowed soft chuckle to escape his lips. This only made Yasusada burst out in tears more._

 _"Stop! Stop that! It's not funny! What's so funny?!"_

 _"... You look... silly..."_

 _"Then stay alive!" Those words did not sound as strong as Yasusada wanted. It was mixed with sobbing noises. "I can do more silly things when we return! Okay? Okay...? Tell me you're doing alright right now..." And he leaned in closer, resting his forehead on the bleeding swordsman while whispering, "Please...?"_

 _The sound of Yasusada crying like this was new to Kiyomitsu and he hated himself for making it happen. Each time he heard whimpering noises mixed with Yasusada's tightening embrace on his dying body, Kiyomitsu was glad when Yasusada decided to press his forehead on Kiyomitsu's shoulder. This gave Kashuu a moment to take off his mask that displayed a confident smile. He was also crying silently, feeling a drop of tear finally falling down from the corner of his eyes._

 _"Ya...susada... You know that... I can't... lie to you..."_

 _Those were the final words before Kashuu Kiyomitsu took his last breath. The one that helped Yasusada move on from his attachment towards Okita. The one that he spent doing chores with, bickering every now and then. The one that took his time to make pretty hair pins which caused Yasusada to blush in embarrassment each time. This Kashuu Kiyomitsu was gone. And Yasusada thought he would go insane._

". . . no Kami."

"...to no Kami..!"

"Yamato no Kami!"

The sound of the elder sword, Mikazuki Munechika finally caught Yasusada's attention as the younger sword broke out from his own flashback.

"I apologize that you had to be the one to discover him like this but Kashuu Kiyomitsu is.."

"It's okay. History repeats itself like what master said and Kiyomitsu is meant to live in a cycle of breaking. I can't fix that." Yasusada answered calmly while cutting off Mikazuki's sentence without realizing it.

"Yasusada..." Izumi no Kami Kanesada narrowed his eyes as he picked up a lifeless body from the ground, not taking into the liking of how Yasusada is starting to interpret this situation. "Listen to yourself, this is Kashuu Kiyomitsu we're talking about!"

"Kane-san..!" Horikawa Kunihiro, the one that spends most of his time with Kanesada quickly jumped in between them, not wanting to start something.

"I knew this was going to happen someday so... so I asked that Kiyomitsu if we could spend the least time together as much as possible. I didn't tell him that he would break one day... I just... told him that I needed space for the time being." Yasusada turned his body away from the others, wanting to return back to the citadel.

"I cried for the first, second, third and fourth Kiyomitsu. It hurts.. it really hurts. It's like losing Okita-kun all over again but worse. But I learned to cope and accepted the fact that Kiyomitsu will be forever in this cycle." Yasusada took a deep breath as he tried to take in the current situation slowly. He wasn't crying and Yasusada thought this would make him happy but what was this empty feeling. It wasn't painful like his previous loss but something felt... bizarre.

"Just because this Kiyomitsu didn't share the same memories as the previous ones you can't just...!"

"Izumi no Kami, I believe this is enough." Mikazuki game into Horikawa's rescue as he stepped in to disband the possible heating of this discussion. "We are all tired and we will properly mourn for Kashuu's unfortunate event back at the citadel. I am positive that Yamato no Kami is suffering the most from here so let us all give him our respect."

"Thank you.. Mikazuki." Yasusada muttered as they all managed to return to the citadel with a horrible news waiting for everyone back home.

One month..

Two months...

Three months passed as the usual routine revolved around the citadel. Yamato no Kami was surprised that a new Kashuu Kiyomitsu didn't show up after all this time. This was the first and he wasn't sure if he should be happy with this unexpected event or not.

"Maybe the cycle broke and Kiyomitsu's soul can rest in peace now." Yasusada suddenly came up with his own theory as he got himself comfortable, getting ready for bed. "Maybe the fifth Kiyomitsu really was the last one..."

Yasusada felt his eyes slowly shutting down on their own as a peaceful slumber kicked in a few moments later. At this point, Yasusada was accustomed to sleeping alone in his room, it was no big deal. Or at least that's what he forced himself to believe.

"-su-sa-da~"

Yasusada could have sworn that he heard something but the laziness prevented him from opening his eyes to check the surroundings.

"Ya-su-sa-da~!"

"Wha.. what...?" Ever so slowly, Yasusada opened his eyes to check the source of the sound. But the sleepy sensation was all blown away as he saw the figure sitting right beside him.

"I thought you would be awake by the time my nails dried. Such a heavy sleeper~ I painted four of your nails just for fun because I got bored of waiting."

"Kiyo...mitsu?" With a widened eyes, Yasusada didn't know how to react to this sudden situation he was placed in.

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Thank you for reading! I made the first chapter short because I wasn't sure if this was worth continuing or not. Please review if you want to see more of this story and I hope to see everyone soon!


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